LANSING, MI — The head of the Michigan Public Service Commission has come out against Proposal 3’s renewable energy mandate.

MPSC Chairman John Quackenbush said the constitutional amendment requiring that utilities derive 25 percent of their energy from renewable source by 2025 would “strips policymakers of flexibility to do what is right for Michigan over the next thirteen years.”

The MPSC, comprised of three members appointed by the governor, regulates electric companies and other public utilities.

If voters pass the amendment, the MPSC would likely play a role in implementing and enforcing the standard, though the proposal language does not outline specifics on how that would occur.

Quackenbush said he's disappointed that some supporters of Proposal 3 "badly distort" a February 2012 MPSC report on PA 295, a 2008 law that requires 10 percent of Michigan's energy to come from renewable sources by 2015.

Proposal backer Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs said the new mandate would cost the average Michigan household no more than $1.25 a month, and in the long run could reduce energy bills. It attributes these findings to studies that use MPSC data.

"The (MPSC) report addresses the impact of the renewable energy standard on employment and compares the cost of renewable energy to the cost of new coal energy," Quackenbush said in a statement released by opposition group Clean Affordable Renewable Energy for Michigan. "The report does not attempt to address net job impacts or the cost of renewable energy compared to existing electricity rates."

The report says that the life-cycle cost of wind and biomass energy generators is less expensive than the life-cycle cost of a new coal plant. But renewable energy remains more expensive than electricity generated from existing coal plants.

The report noted that some utilities have levied surcharges as high as $3 per month for residential customers to recoup the costs of meeting the 10 percent mandate.

“While these surcharges have an impact on electric rates, there are also economic benefits attributable to an increase in renewable energy generation sources and improved energy efficiency,” the report said.